The deal, which is said to be the largest ever between domestic ship owners and builders, will go to Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based subsidiary under the shipbuilding giant.

It will build five 5,688-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container ships for Shanghai-based China Shipping (Group) Co Ltd.

According to the deal, the ships will be delivered starting the second half of next year.

Amid rising demand, China Shipping had earlier placed similar orders with the shipbuilder.

It ordered four 5,668-TEU container ships, the largest vessel of its kind ever built by domestic shipbuilders, and middle-sized ships with a capacity of 4,250 TEUs from Hudong-Zhonghua two years ago.

One of the 5,668-TEU container ships was delivered in February while the second one is due next Wednesday.

Industry insiders said China Shipping will catch up with China Ocean Shipping Co, its major rival, by 2005 in terms of container capacity.

Currently, China Shipping's fleet of nearly 100 ships has about 170,000 TEUs of containers while COSCO boasts a total of 230,000 TEUs.

In the first four months this year, CSSC, parent of the builder, earned orders to build ships with a dead weight of 2.23 million tons, up 239 percent from a year ago.

(Shanghai Daily May 10, 2003)